Smart dismantling, sorting and REcycling of glass Fibre REinforced composite from wind power Sector through Holistic approach

REFRESH aims to develop and demonstrate a novel circular, smart system for an improved recycling (>90%) of glass fiber-reinforced composites derived from wind turbine dismantling or reblading, with high purity level. The project will focus on the mechanical and thermal treatment of waste, but it will strongly involve the entire reverse circular value chain: from end-of-life blades to a wide range of re-manufactured products. REFRESH proposes a flexible re-manufacturing line: when a wind-blade is decommissioned, it will be performed a selection of optimal recycling process according to the technical condition of the blade and current market demand; this will be achieved by using a dedicated tracking tool for collecting, protecting and sharing information and an embedded decision-making tool software for selecting time by time the most sustainable approach to recycling. The project will focus on the most robust and mature mechanical treatments, where composites are grinded in various size and used as new raw material to create multifunctional panels for automotive, marine applications, home furniture, civil construction. The project will design and deploy an up-scaled process, starting from the already available remanufacturing line of GEES Recycling (Aviano, Italy). Another robust and proven process is the thermal technology, here proposed by Gjenkraft, that allow also to recover long and “clean” fibers, without matrix, having properties comparable with the one of virgin fibers. The holistic approach developed within the project will be validated by means of LCA/LCC/health-safety analysis. The project will finally contribute to the increase of awareness among stakeholder communities through direct engagement, aimed at replicating the solution in Europe and guarantee a capillary presence of treatment plants. The novel REFRESH approach will allow potential savings of virgin raw materials of 22 and 52 Mton after 5 and 8 years from project end respectively.